CUE GURU
When you talk about New Zealand’s greatest sports people, you immediately think of the likes of Peter Snell, Yvette Williams, Valerie Adams or even Richie Mc-Caw. But not many people would think of Clark McConachy. Indeed, not many would even have heard of him.
Mac, as he was known to his friends, was a New Zealand snooker player and one of the greatest billiard players in the history of the game. I only very recently found out about him, even though his name has been staring me in the face for the past 22 years – every time I walked through the front door. But despite his name having slipped from sporting memory, his achievements were nothing short of extraordinary.
Snooker developed among British Army officers stationed in India in the latter part of the 19th century, with a young lieutenant, Neville Chamberlain, credited with the honour of inventing the game. The word snooker was a military expression for first year cadets or inexperienced personnel, and Chamberlain used the term for an inept performance on the table by one of his fellow officers.
I first became interested in snooker as a teenager in London in the 70s, watching the TV programme , mesmerised by the skills of the top players. Interestingly, snooker was first brought to television in 1969 by David Attenborough, who because the deep green baize of the table and the brightly coloured balls were the perfect showcase for the birth of colour television.
